Packed house at Neepawa's candidates forum
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- Published on Friday, October 19, 2018
Around 100 people filled the ArtsForward building on Tuesday, Oct. 9 for the Neepawa and District Chamber of Commerce election forum.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
The ArtsForward Cultural Centre was filled to capacity on Tuesday, Oct. 9 for the Neepawa and District Chamber of Commerce municipal election forum. The night featured all 13 candidates, including Adrian de Groot and Blake McCutcheon, who are vying for the town’s mayoral position. It was also filmed by NACTV for later broadcast, for those who were unable to attend to hear each individual’s perspective on the future of Neepawa. The forum will be rebroadcast on the station on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 11:00 a.m.
Transparency
While road repairs, the Riverside Cemetery and the regional hospital were just some of the important issues discussed; the topic everyone wanted to focus on was the level of transparency coming out of the Town Office. Several new council hopefuls expressed concern over the amount of information that has been communicated publicly over the past four years. Many incumbents, however, noted that all matters of importance to the community are discussed and decided upon at council meetings which are always open to the public. They did clarify though that there are some very specific parts of this process that cannot be discussed in open council, due either to their sensitive nature or legal ramifications.
“I’ll look into it”
Overall, the forum wasn’t able to delve too deeply into issues due to many of the first time candidates deferring on their answers. That was because them not being privy to sensitive or specific background connected to them. That gave the incumbents a bit of an advantage, as they were able to go a bit more in-depth on their answers.
Solid participation
At the conclusion of the event, Neepawa and District Chamber of Commerce president Jeff Braun said that he was very pleased with the overall response.
“[The Chamber] were quite happy with what just how the forum turned out. There were a large number of people who attended and were engaged in the process. That’s what you like to see from the members of the community,” said Braun.
The Neepawa Municipal Election is scheduled for Oct. 24. The polls will open on that day at 8:00 a.m. and closed at 8:00 p.m. at Yellowhead Centre Hall. Advanced voting is underway at the Town of Neepawa Civic Administration Office between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
